Roses and Cherry Blossoms
by Fellykins
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha has left Konoha. Naruto Uzumaki has left with Jiraiya. Now Sakura is left all alone in the village. She has decided to go find Sasuke on her own... will she succeed or will she fail? AU Sasuke/Sakura
1. Chapter 1

_Yet another Naruto fic from yours truly. This one doesn't really center on following the anime though, like my other fic does. This one is AU and it centers on Sasuke and Sakura. Basically, Sasuke leaves Konoha and after Naruto leaves with Jiraiya, Sakura disappears as well. Over the three year time skip, she goes and tries to find Sasuke and bring him home. The first chapter is fillerish since it doesn't go straight into Sakura trying to find Sasuke, but it does go there in later chapters._

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 1 – Farewell

A young boy with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes was standing at the gates of Konohagakure next to a man with white hair. Also at the village gates was a girl with bubble-gum pink hair, a man whose headband covered his left eye, and a big busted blonde woman.

"Naruto, you better come back! Then we can go and bring back Sasuke together!" the girl with bubble-gum pink hair said confidently. The boy with spiky blonde hair grinned and nodded.

"Don't worry, Sakura! I'll come back and I'll be way stronger than I was before!" the boy with spiky blonde hair responded. His name was Naruto Uzumaki, the owner of the Nine-Tailed Fox that tried to destroy Konoha before it was sealed away. The girl with bubble-gum pink hair was Sakura Haruno, a member of Team Seven, led by Kakashi Hatake. The man whose headband covered his left eye was Kakashi Hatake, the Jounin leader of the dysfunctional Team Seven.

"Jiraiya, bring him back alive, please," the big busted blonde woman said. The man with white hair nodded.

"Don't worry, Tsunade. I don't plan on bringing him back dead," the man with white hair replied. This was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin who trained under the late Sandaime Hokage. The big busted blonde woman was Tsunade, another one of the Sannin who trained under the late Sandaime Hokage.

"Alright Naruto, we should probably get going," Jiraiya said. Naruto nodded, and then waved at his friends.

"Bye guys! I'll see you soon!" Naruto said as he began walking away from the village. Sakura, Kakashi, and Tsunade began waving just as Jiraiya began following them. Jiraiya and Naruto also began waving.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sakura sighed as she lay on her bed. She picked up a picture off of her nightstand and held it in front of her. In the picture were Naruto, Sakura herself, and Sasuke with their Jounin sensei, Kakashi. A tear fell from Sakura's eyes as she stared blankly at the picture.

"Oh, Sasuke… why did you have to leave?" Sakura asked softly as she placed the picture back on the nightstand. Suddenly, she sat up. She wiped away her tears and grinned excitedly.

"I got it! I won't wait for Naruto to come back! I'll go find Sasuke on my own!" Sakura exclaimed quietly. She leaped out of bed and grabbed her bag. She began packing various things such as kunai, shruiken, windmill shruiken, scrolls, files, mirrors, wire, exploding notes and pouches, exploding smoke grenades, makibishi, and needles. She also threw in a few spare clothes. After her bag was packed and lightly tossed onto her bed, she walked over to her mirror and examined herself. Sakura picked up her brush and ran it through her hair a few times before setting it back down. She then picked up her headband and put it on. A small smile appeared on her face as she took out a piece of paper and pen.

_Mom and Dad,_

_I've been asked to go on a mission by Lady Hokage. I don't know when I'll be back, but I will be back. See you soon._

_Sakura_

Sakura put down her pen and picked up the piece of paper. She swung her bag over her shoulder and looked around her room one last time. It would certainly be awhile before she came back here. As she walked out of her room, she grabbed her money pouch.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

As Sakura walked out of the village, she smiled to herself.

"Sasuke, I'm coming for you. Don't worry," Sakura said softly.


	2. Ambush of an Ally

_So as of yesterday, I'm officially done with my sophomore year. What else is great about that? I'm a junior! I passed English on a B for the year (that should be an A, but I had to dumb myself down like twenty levels to be on the level of the class), and the English we're in determines our grade level except in extenuating circumstances. So yeah, I'm free until September, so expect a few more chapters. Also, in one of my reviews, I was asked if the Sakura I was using is post-time skip Sakura. The Sakura I'm currently using is pre-time skip Sakura. As the story progresses, she'll get stronger and eventually progress to the post-time skip level. (: At any rate, here's chapter two!_

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 2 – Ambush of an Ally

Sakura sighed as she began setting up camp. Despite the fact that she had left Konoha in the middle of the afternoon, she hadn't gotten very far away. The sun had started to set about an hour ago, and now the sky was starting to get darker. There was a loud rustle in the trees, causing Sakura to jump up from setting up her tent and take out a kunai.

"Who's there?" Sakura asked. She was looking around the open space she had chosen for her camp cautiously. The rustling had stopped, making Sakura breathe a sigh of relief.

'_Maybe it was just an animal or something. If it was another person, they probably would've come out,' _Sakura thought as she resumed setting up her tent. She was beginning to regret doing this on her own now. She had no idea what she was up against. Sure, she had been on a C-ranked mission with Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke to the Land of Waves, but she hadn't really done much. She wasn't much help there. Sakura was the one who had protected Tazuna for the most part.

Then, there were the Chunnin exams, the tests that determined if you were eligible to become a Chunnin that year. Sakura had done very well in the first part of the exam. When her team was in the Forest of Death, she had done a decent job in defending and protecting Sasuke and Naruto while they were down, even going to the length of cutting her own hair to get herself free from one of their enemies. Then, there were the individual battles. During Sakura's battle, she was placed up against her long time rival, Ino Yamanaka. Their battle had ended in a tie, resulting in both girls to be knocked out of the competition.

Sakura sighed again as she finished setting up her tent. She sat down and relaxed in front of her tent, staring up at the night sky. The moon was half full tonight, so it made the night sky look beautiful. Sighing, she sat up and crawled into her tent, ready to go to bed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"_Sakura… Sakura, help me," Sasuke called. _

"_Sasuke, I'm coming! Just… just stop moving!" Sakura cried. She was running towards Sasuke, but with each step she took, he just kept getting farther and farther away. _

"_Sakura!" Sasuke yelled._

"_Sasuke!" Sakura cried. Sasuke kept getting farther and farther away until all Sakura saw was darkness._

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The following morning, Sakura jolted up right; she was sweating bullets.

"Sasuke… he needs me," Sakura said softly. "He needs me to help him."

There was a loud crash outside of Sakura's tent. Cautiously, she picked up a kunai and peered outside of her tent. Outside of her tent was a blonde girl who wore the Konoha headband around her waist.

"Ino? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Looking for you, of course! I figured out what you were doing when I went to your house yesterday. Lady Hokage wouldn't have sent you out on a mission on your own," Ino explained. Sakura slowly exited her tent; she still appeared half asleep.

"Okay… so why were you looking for me?" Sakura asked as she rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"I want to help you find Sasuke," Ino stated. Sakura yawned as she looked at Ino with wide eyes.

"W-what?" Sakura asked, shocked.

"I want to help you find Sasuke," Ino repeated.

"Why?" Sakura asked. Ino simply shrugged.

"Because there's no way you can do this on your own. You're going to need some help, and I'm obviously the best candidate. If you don't let me help, I can always go back to Konoha and have Kakashi come looking for you," Ino replied. Sakura sighed; she was in a bit of a hole now. If she told Ino she couldn't come, then Tsunade would send Kakashi out after her. If that happened, then she would never get to Sasuke. She would never be able to save him. On the other hand, if Sakura did allow Ino to tag along, it would be one more person to worry about.

"Okay, okay, fine. You can tag along," Sakura said reluctantly. Ino smiled as Sakura began packing her things. Once Sakura finished packing everything, the two girls set off through the forest outside of Konoha. Sakura hoped that they would get farther than she did yesterday. Sasuke was calling out to her and she needed to help him. She planned to help him even if she died trying.


	3. Battlefield

_So today's my birthday. Haha, I bet half of you are wondering why I'm typing fanfiction on my birthday. I should be out having fun and enjoying life. Heee, well, I'm going out later for what I call an unofficial party. (Not to mention I have to check my OVER 9000! birthday notifications.) So yeah, I hope you all enjoy this chapter of Roses and Cherry Blossoms as much as I've enjoyed my birthday so far!_

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 3 – Battlefield

The Valley of the End was a beautiful place in the morning. The sun sparkled off of the waterfall. There were two statues towering over the waterfall as well. One was on the side of the Fire Country while the other was on the side of the Rice Field Country.

"Who are those statues of?" Ino inquired. The girls had decided to take a break to have lunch by the water.

"I think that one is the First Hokage… I'm not sure who the other one is," Sakura said as she pointed at the statue of the First Hokage. Ino looked at the other statue curiously.

"Hm… it looks kinda like Sasuke, doesn't it?" Ino asked. Sakura looked at the other statue as well, tilting her head slightly.

"Not really," Sakura replied. Ino shrugged as she bit into her sandwich.

"Oh… maybe it's just me then," Ino replied. The remainder of the girls' lunch continued in silence. That is… until Sakura sighed.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"What if we can't find Sasuke? What if we can't get him to come back to us? What if this is all just a big waste of time?" Sakura asked in response. Ino put her hands on Sakura's shoulder and gave her a comforting smile.

"Hey, hey, we'll find Sasuke. Don't worry, okay?" Ino said. Sakura nodded and began to pack up their things. It didn't really take long considering that they didn't want to unpack much; the more they unpacked, the longer it would take them to get moving again after lunch.

Together, they crossed the border into the Rice Field Country. Crossing the border didn't make anything different; there was still a massive amount of forest. However, they had one thing to worry about here: ambushes by Sound ninja. If a massive group of Sound ninja ambushed the girls, they would be done for. They would either be killed or too injured to try and get back to Konoha for medical attention from Tsunade and Shizune.

Sakura shook her head to try and get the unpleasant thoughts to go away. Sadly, it didn't seem to work as they managed to stay stuck in her head. A rustling in the bushes startled Sakura and made Ino get into a defensive stance.

"Who's there?" Ino called as Sakura got into a defensive stance. After a few minutes, a squirrel appeared from the bushes. Sakura and Ino looked at each other before sighing in relief.

"It was just a squirrel," Sakura breathed. She sighed again before continuing to walk. Just as Sakura turned around, she was knocked down by a mysterious force. Ino turned around to see an unfamiliar ninja, though said ninja was a Sound ninja based on his headband. He had spiky black hair and stunning green eyes.

"Who are you?" Ino asked as she watched the squirrel run away from the corner of her eye. The man chuckled as he took out a kunai.

"Call me Matsumoto. I'll be the one killing you two trespassers this fine afternoon," the man said as he bowed. He got into a fighting stance and grinned evilly. "Now prepare to die."

The man now identified as Matsumoto lunged at Sakura. She panicked for a split second before blocking the man's attack with her own kunai. Ino came up behind him and knocked him down as Sakura jumped back.

"Stand still! I'll make it less painful if you do!" Matsumoto yelled. Sakura lunged at the man while Ino stood in place. The man swiveled around to see Sakura behind him. When he tried to attack, he discovered that he couldn't move. "Wh-what?"

"Trapped. It's my signature jutsu, Mind Body Change Technique!" Ino replied. She looked over at Sakura from Matsumoto's body. "Alright, I'm gonna run away in this guy's body. Get him far enough away so that he won't catch back up with us. You make sure my body stays safe, okay?"

Sakura nodded as she watched Ino in Matsumoto's body run off into the forest. She sighed as she took a seat next to Ino's body. After about fifteen minutes or so, Sakura heard Ino groaning and watched as her friend slowly sat up.

"Where did you ditch him at?" Sakura asked she stood up. She extended her hand to help Ino up.

"I found their compound. I ditched him behind some trees there. They won't find him anytime soon," Ino replied as Sakura pulled her to her feet.

"So we should probably start heading there then," Sakura stated. She began walking the way Ino had gone in Matsumoto's body, but she stopped when Ino grabbed her arm.

"We should take a different route. They're bound to discover that Matsumoto guy's body. Come on, follow me," Ino stated. Sakura nodded, and then watched as Ino walked in a different direction. She shrugged and then followed after Ino. Little did they know, they were being followed.

'_Oh, Asuma is going to have my head once he finds out that Ino's missing too...'_


	4. Busted In More Ways Than One

_It's been awhile, but I've finally decided to type up another chapter. It's time for another edition of Roses and Cherry Blossoms. This will probably be the last one you see for quite awhile. I go back to school September 7th, and I won't have much time for much of anything. So enjoy this chapter of Roses and Cherry Blossoms!_

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 4 - Busted In More Ways Than One

Sakura suddenly stopped as the girls reached a lake. Ino stopped as well, sitting down on the ground. Night was falling quickly. Sakura had been feeling a familiar chakra presence all day, although she didn't really bother with it. The young girl with bubblegum pink hair sighed as she sat down.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?" Ino inquired. Sakura shook her head and sighed once more.

"I've just felt this familiar chakra all day... I'm not really sure whose chakra it is though," Sakura replied.

"Maybe it's Sasuke's. We are pretty close to that compound," Ino suggested. Sakura looked at her curiously; she hadn't realized that they were that close to the compound.

"Maybe... I dunno. I'm not gonna worry about it right now. It's a familiar chakra; I shouldn't have to worry about it," Sakura replied. Ino nodded in agreement.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The following morning, Sakura yawned as she slowly sat up. As she sat up, there was a slightly blurry figure in front of her, standing on the water.

"Wh-who are you?" Sakura asked groggily, rubbing her eyes as she spoke. The figure walked forward, stopping on the grass in front of Sakura.

"Look harder, Sakura," the figure stated. Sakura blinked a few times; her vision had finally cleared up, and things weren't nearly as blurry. The figure in front of her was a male with silver hair who had one eye covered up by a headband.

"K-Kakashi-sensei? W-what are you doing here?" Sakura asked nervously. Ino was just now starting to wake up due to the commotion.

"I'm here to take both of you back to the village. It's Lady Hokage's orders; don't try to struggle," the silver haired man known as Kakashi replied. Sakura leaped up to her feet, taking out a kunai as she did so, while Ino groggily rose to her feet.

"What's going on?" Ino groaned.

"Kakashi-sensei is trying to get us to go back to Konoha," Sakura explained. Kakashi sighed and shook his head; he had a feeling that this would take awhile. Ino's expression immediately brightened up as if she had just drank an entire pot of coffee.

"No way! I'm not going back to Konoha!" Ino exclaimed as she took out a few shruiken.

"Neither am I, but we've gotta stop Kakashi-sensei first," Sakura replied cooly.

"Sakura, you won't be able to take me down. You couldn't even take me down when you had Naruto and Sasuke's help. What makes you think you'll be able to do it now?" Kakashi replied. He didn't seem shocked at all by Sakura's attitude; the young girl had certainly changed a lot since he had first met her.

"Because I've gotten stronger since then!" Sakura yelled as she ran at Kakashi. She swung her kunai at him, but Kakashi grabbed her wrist and pinned her down to the ground.

"I thought you said you had gotten stronger, Sakura," Kakashi murmured. Sakura grumbled something incoherent under her breath as she struggled beneath Kakashi's grip to try and get free. Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "Ino, I suggest you come along without a fight. I really don't want Asuma getting mad at me. He has yet to find out that you're gone."

Ino sighed reluctantly as she returned her shruiken to the holster on her thigh. "Fine, I'll go without a fight."

"Good," Kakashi replied. He stood up, keeping a firm grip around Sakura, who was still struggling to get free. "Sakura, just give up. I'm not going to let you get free."

Sakura sighed in defeat as she stopped struggling. "Fine, I give up. Just take us back to Konoha, so Lady Hokage can yell at us, and we can all move on with our lives."

Kakashi allowed himself to smile beneath his mask, though neither of the girls could see it. He began walking back towards the village, still keeping a firm grip on Sakura. Ino reluctantly followed after him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back at the village, more specifically inside Tsunade's office, Sakura and Ino were sitting in chairs with Kakashi and Asuma standing behind them. Both of the men looked positively furious, although neither of them looked more furious than Tsunade. Shizune was standing in between Kakashi and Asuma, holding the sleeping Tonton.

"What were you two thinking!" Tsunade yelled. Sakura and Ino exchanged a look, but it was Sakura who sighed and looked down nervously at the ground.

"I wanted to go save Sasuke," Sakura said. Her voice was soft, even regretful. It was as if she completely regretted leaving the village at all.

"Why did you leave?" Tsunade asked, looking at Ino. Her voice wasn't nearly as loud as the first time, although one could tell that she was still pretty ticked off.

"I went to Sakura's house the day after she had left to see if she wanted to come train with me. Her parents showed me the note, but I didn't believe it. I left to go try and find her, but I ended up tagging along instead," Ino explained. Tsunade sighed as she stood up from her chair. She looked from Ino and Sakura to Kakashi and Asuma before resting her gaze on the girls.

"Well, I'm afraid that you girls will have to be watched carefully. You're both allowed to go home, but you are not allowed to leave the village without supervision. You will be watched wherever you go outside of your home. If you leave the village, it will be reported and ANBU will be sent out after you," Tsunade said. Her voice sounded regretful, but she knew it had to be done. She couldn't allow either of the girls to go after Sasuke. Tsunade was on a squad with Orochimaru with her good friend, Jiraiya, and their sensei, the late Third Hokage. She knew about Orochimaru more than Sakura and Ino did, and she knew that he was a dangerous individual.

"Alright, that's fine," Ino confirmed. Tsunade nodded at Ino before looking at Sakura, who was still looking down at the ground.

"Sakura? Is that alright with you?" Tsunade asked. Her voice sounded calm now, as if the anger had just evaporated from her.

"Yes, ma'am," Sakura murmured loud enough for Tsunade to hear. Tsunade nodded as she sat back down in her chair.

"Right, then you both are free to go home," Tsunade stated. Both of the girls nodded as they stood up, Sakura being much slower than Ino. The girls walked out of Tsunade's office with their senseis behind them. Shizune watched them leave before turning to Tsunade.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Shizune asked once Asuma, who was the last person to leave the room, closed the door behind him.

"It's for the best, Shizune. We can't afford to lose anyone... and Orochimaru, he's dangerous," Tsunade replied.


	5. New Plan

_So I lied a little bit last chapter. THIS chapter is the last chapter you'll see before I go back to school September 7th. I got my schedule today... that's horribly messed up. I don't have a 4A class for second semester. First semester, though, during 4A, it's excused, so I get to go home. I plan on getting that clarified on Monday, even though they don't take schedule changes until Tuesday. Anyways, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter of Roses and Cherry Blossoms._

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 5 - New Plan

Two weeks. That was the amount of time that had passed since Kakashi had dragged Sakura and Ino home. Sakura had spent her days trying to come up with a new plan. Ino, on the other hand, was spending her days training. On occasion, she would go to Sakura's house and help her plan their mission.

If there was one thing that they had gathered when they left the first time, it was the location of the compound. Neither of them knew if Sasuke was there, but it was a start. It was what kept them going. Even if Sasuke wasn't there, it would certainly give them a clue to his location. Sakura didn't plan on giving up any time soon. She would keep going until she ran out of clues.

"Hey Sakura," Ino called as she walked into Sakura's room. Sakura, who was laying on her bed, turned to look at Ino. She smiled before returning to the mess of papers on her bed. "What are you up to?"

"Just looking at stuff. I was trying to think of a new plan to get to Sasuke," Sakura replied. Ino dragged a chair over to Sakura's bed and sat down.

"Maybe we should just head for that compound. That's where we were heading before Kakashi came and dragged us back here," Ino replied. Sakura shook her head as she straightened the papers out.

"What if it's just a dead end?" Sakura asked. Ino patted Sakura's back with a smile.

"If it is, then we'll just keep searching. We can't give up now, Sakura," Ino replied. Sakura looked over at Ino and returned her smile.

"Thanks, Ino. We'll leave in a couple days," Sakura stated. Ino nodded. The girls spent the rest of their day talking about things that didn't relate to the mission. Little did they know, they were being watched.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

A couple days later, Sakura was outside of the village at their designated meeting place. It was well hidden, though Sakura didn't doubt that there were still people watching. She sighed as she looked up at the sky. Ino was late... it wasn't like her to be late.

"Sakura!" Ino called as she ran up to Sakura. Sakura looked at Ino, who looked extremely nervous.

"What's wrong? You look nervous," Sakura asked. Ino looked around nervously before resting her gaze on Sakura.

"I saw some ANBU Black Ops in the village when I was leaving to come here. That's why I was late. I had to take so many shortcuts to get here without being seen," Ino replied nervously. Sakura sighed and shook her head. She picked up her bag and began walking towards the compound.

"They probably saw you anyways. Let's get a move on before they start searching the forest around the village. We'll have to find a place to sleep too. I doubt we'll get to the compound today," Sakura stated. Ino began jogging at a steady pace to catch up to Sakura, but she slowed to a walk once she was alongside Sakura.

"What if they find where we're sleeping?" Ino asked. She still sounded and looked nervous. Sakura shrugged; her mind obviously wasn't that far ahead yet.

"I don't know. We just have to keep moving right now," Sakura replied. Although she didn't look or sound it, Ino knew that Sakura was nervous as well. Ino nodded as they continued to walk through the forest.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hours later, Sakura stopped suddenly in a vast clearing. Ino stopped next to her, looking at her pink-haired companion curiously. Sakura leaned over to Ino and whispered something in her ear. Ino nodded and walked off. Sakura smiled to herself as she continued walking.

There was a reasoning for the split up. Sakura had noticed a cave not too far away from the clearing. She had gone to the clearing only to distract anyone who may have been following them. That explained why Ino was going a separate way than Sakura. The plan was that Sakura was going to set up their camp within the cave, and Ino would come by. The only way Ino would be allowed in would be if she knew the password.

Sakura had just arrived in the cave and began unpacking. One of the first things she did was place a large rock at the entrance. She left part of the entrance uncovered so that she could hear Ino when she came by. The pink-haired kunoichi had barely finished unpacking when Ino came by.

"Sakura?" Ino called into the cave. Sakura leaped up with a kunai in her hand and ran over to the entrance. A smile appeared on Ino's face as she whispered the password to Sakura. Sakura nodded and stepped aside to let Ino in. Together, the girls moved the rock to cover the entire entrance.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Ino asked as Sakura lit the fire with some matches that she had packed.

"I have some exploding tags in my bag. I'll set a few of those up when we're ready to leave, but you've gotta be ready to run when the smoke starts to appear," Sakura replied. Ino looked thoroughly impressed.

"I see. So it's like a distraction of sorts," Ino stated as she started cutting some chicken that Sakura had taken out of her bag.

"I never really thought of it like that, but yeah," Sakura replied as she poured the noodles and flavoring mix into the pot. Ino smiled as she dumped the chicken she had finished cutting into the pot moments later. They certainly made a good team.


	6. Doing It All Over Again

_Dear writer's block, I hate you. That's only half the reason why this chapter hasn't been posted. The other half is school. Homecoming has recently ended, and theatre takes over my life. So my only free time is when I don't have theatre. It's rather disappointing. But I'm going to push this chapter out and finish this story. So enjoy this chapter!_

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 6 - Doing It All Over Again

The following morning, Sakura awoke to see that their fire had turned into ash. She had forgotten to put it out before going to bed; she was so tired that she didn't even think about putting the fire out. Ino had fallen asleep before Sakura, and she was still asleep. Shrugging, Sakura began packing her things.

Moments later, just as Sakura was about to pack a pot in her bag, there was a rather loud crash outside. Sakura jumped while Ino rolled over and groaned, rubbing at her eyes. There was another loud crash, prompting Sakura to gently set the pot down and take out a kunai in one hand and a few shruiken in the other. Ino slowly sat up, still rubbing at her eyes and yawning.

"Sakura, what's going on?" Ino groaned.

"Pack your things and the rest of my stuff. We're getting out of here," Sakura stated. Ino nodded and frantically began packing everything that she could find. Sakura slowly approached the entrance that was blocked off by a rock and began placing exploding tags onto it. Once she had placed several exploding tags on the rock, she backed away quickly. She received her bag from Ino and swung it around her shoulder.

"Get ready to go. I have no idea what's out there, but just be ready for a fight," Sakura murmured. Just as Ino took out two kunai, one in each hand, there was a large explosion. The rock exploded, sending pieces of it flying in all directions.

"Go!" Sakura yelled. She began running towards the light that was seeping through the smoke and ash from the explosion. Ino followed after her shortly after recovering from the explosion. They got outside, and smoke and ash covered the surrounding area as well. Sakura began running towards her right, away from the cave, with Ino close behind her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

They arrived at a small clearing soon after escaping the explosion site. Sakura collapsed to her knees, exhausted from the running; Ino had done the same thing.

"Do you think anyone will find us here?" Ino breathed. Sakura shook her head; she was too exhausted to talk at the moment. They sat in silence for a while as their breathing normalized itself.

"I don't think we're that far from where they have Sasuke at now," Sakura said once her breathing was back to normal. She pointed to the northwest, where one could see the upper edge of a building just barely peering over the trees.

"I think we're pretty close. We should keep moving," Ino replied. Sakura nodded as she stood up, swinging her bag back over her shoulders. The girls began walking northwest towards the building after a few moments.

"Do you really think Sasuke's in there though?" Ino asked.

"I don't see why he wouldn't be. We have to have crossed the border into Sound territory by now," Sakura replied.

"That means we might be ambushed... or see Orochimaru and Kabuto," Ino stated.

"I'm actually kind of hoping that doesn't happen any time soon, but yes, it could happen," Sakura murmured. There was a brief rustling in the trees, but upon closer inspection, it was only some birds in the trees. It was nothing to freak out about for now.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The compound wasn't as far away as they thought it was. The girls were hiding in a nearby tree, looking over the compound. From the trees, the girls could see that there were several guards just outside of the compound as well as at various places within the compound.

"How are we going to break in there, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"I'm not sure yet. There's a lot of guards around the area. I was thinking about a distraction of sorts," Sakura replied.

"A distraction sounds good," Ino stated.

"What kind of distraction though? We can't set off any alarms, or we may be seen," Sakura murmured.

"Maybe we could do what we did back at the cave," Ino suggested. Sakura shook her head, causing Ino to frown slightly. "Then what?"

"I don't know!" Sakura hissed quietly.

"Well, there's got to be something we can do!" Ino hissed back quietly. There was silence for awhile before Sakura finally spoke up again.

"Clones, maybe?"

"How would that work out?" Ino asked.

"When they see someone, they're going to attack. The clones would just run until the guards were far enough away that it would take them awhile to return," Sakura replied.

"And then we could go and get Sasuke!" Ino added excitedly, yet quietly. Sakura nodded.

"Shall we start now then?" Ino asked. This time, Sakura shook her head. "Why not?"

"It's too bright outside right now. They'll notice now. We'll wait until it's night time to do it," Sakura replied. Ino nodded, understanding now why they were waiting.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Night came around much slower than the girls had anticipated. However, what was more unexpected was the increase in the guard activity at night. Compared to the daytime, there were many more guards outside now.

"What's the plan now?" Ino asked in a hushed voice.

"It looks like there's two ways to get in and out of the compound. Here's what we'll do. I'll take half, and you take the other half," Sakura replied. Ino nodded and began making the hand signs to make clones; however, Sakura stopped her before she could finish.

"What? Why are you stopping me?" Ino asked.

"There's something else I need to add," Sakura replied. Ino nodded as she lowered her hands to her sides. "We need to keep moving. If they see the clones are coming from just one tree, they're going to be able to get our real bodies."

Ino nodded as both girls began to perform the hand signs required to make clones. Although neither girl knew what the other was thinking, they were both hoping that this would be a successful plan and that they wouldn't die trying to get Sasuke back.


	7. Voices

_I don't quite feel like plotting these points for my Oceanography homework anymore. There's so many of them. :( This is what happens when I do my homework at the last minute. Ah well, I'll get it done sooner or later. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I'm also sick, which makes life a bazillion times worse. Ahhh, well. It'll get done, don't you worry._

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 7 – Voices

The hallways in one of the compounds were dark. Water was dripping from certain parts of the ceiling, and it was creating puddles that were only getting bigger and bigger. It was as if no one bothered to do anything about them. Wall torches were the only thing lighting the hallways. In the hallways were jail cells, each of them with someone in them as well as a bed and a small window, which was blocked off by bars.

In one of the cells was a boy with black hair that appeared to be raven-like. He wore a blue short sleeve shirt and a pair of white shorts. He was wearing no shoes. The boy was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed.

"I don't want to be here anymore... I want to go back home," the boy murmured quietly. His voice echoed off of the walls in the cell and out into the hallway, but if one was listening, they would barely be able to understand what he had said since his voice was so quiet.

"I think we've eliminated all of them," Ino said quietly once they had reunited in the tree.

"I think we have too," Sakura murmured as she looked around the compound.

"What if we see more of them when we enter the compound that Sasuke's in?" Ino asked.

"Then we'll just have to fight them and be as careful as possible," Sakura replied. Ino only nodded in response. "Let's go. The faster we get this done, the faster we can go home with Sasuke."

The girls took one final glance at each other before jumping out of the tree and running into the compound.

The boy had opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. His black eyes were filled with tears, and one could tell he was regretful and sad.

"I need to get out... but I don't know how..." the boy whispered. This time, his voice didn't echo off of the walls. He slowly stood up and approached the bars of the cell. He wrapped his hands around the bars only to be thrown back into the wall.

"Ahhh, I forgot they did something to these bars so that they shock me..." the boy murmured as he sat up. He rubbed the back of his head, and he could feel a bump starting to form. "Damn it, I wonder how I'm going to explain this to them."

They were cornered. They were surrounded. Several Sound ninja had come out of nowhere once the girls had gotten into the hallway with jail cells in it. They had cornered the girls in a matter of seconds.

"What do we do now?" Ino whispered.

"Clones," Sakura whispered back. Ino glanced over at her as if she was crazy.

"What? You've gotta be kidding me!" Ino hissed. Sakura shook her head.

"It's the only way we'll be able to take all of them," Sakura replied quietly.

"Hey, are you going to come willingly or are we going to have to force you?" one of the guards yelled.

"No, I think we'll fight you guys. It sounds a lot more fun," Sakura said evilly. Just as she finished speaking, several clones of her and Ino appeared and surrounded the guards. Some of the inmates had approached the cell bars to watch the fight, although they were careful not to get too close because they had no idea as to what was going to happen. "You ready, Ino?"

"Of course," Ino said. The girls and their clones lunged at the guards, engaging in a battle.

The boy had approached the cell bars to watch the battle. He noticed that several of his fellow inmates had joined him. He could see the guards, but what shocked him was that there was a familiar girl with bubblegum pink hair and another with blonde hair that were fighting the guards. The boy saw their faces and his black eyes widened.

"Sakura? Ino?" the boy croaked. He knew the girls couldn't hear him as he was too far away from them. The boy jumped back when a guard hit his cell, causing the guard to get shocked and the boy to fall to the ground.

"Hey, ladies. You're hot and all, but watch where you're throwing those guards! The bars create an electric shock when they're touched!" one of the inmates yelled.

"Oh, get over it!" Sakura yelled. That voice... the boy recognized it immediately.

"Sakura!" the boy yelled. There was a spark in him, and it had finally ignited once he realized who these girls were. Sakura looked over at him; she couldn't believe what she saw.

"S-Sasuke?" Sakura breathed. One of the guards ran at her, but Sakura spun around and grabbed the keys hanging from his belt before kicking him towards the bars of one of the cells. She ran towards Sasuke's cell and unlocked it, being extra careful as to not touch the bars. "Back up, Sasuke."

Sasuke did as he was told to with no objection whatsoever. Sakura kicked the cell door open and watched it fly back. She smiled as Sasuke ran out of the cell, and she handed him the keys.

"Go let the rest of them out. The more, the merrier," Sakura said. Sasuke only nodded as he ran down to the other end of the hallway. Some guards ran after him, and Sakura ran after them.

"Sakura, wait!" Ino called. Sakura froze and turned around to face Ino. A man with white hair that was tied up into a loose pony tail had grabbed Ino's arms, preventing her from doing much of anything except struggling. He was wearing purple and white, and he wore glasses and a Sound headband. Sakura recognized him from the Chunin Exams as Kabuto. He had posed as a Leaf ninja only to change over to Sound after he was eliminated. He had helped with the invasion.

"You," Sakura hissed, causing Kabuto to grin.

"Yes, me. I'm so glad that you remember me," Kabuto replied. Sakura took out a kunai and threw it at him, but Kabuto stepped aside, taking Ino with him, and causing the kunai to hit a guard standing behind him. "Sorry, but it seems like you've missed."

Sakura growled and ran towards Kabuto, but several guards ran out from behind Kabuto, causing her to stop. The guards kept running, but Sakura only slammed her fist into the ground, slowing the guards down and stunning them. She took this opportunity to kick them all into the nearby cells, effectively taking care of them.

"Let her go," Sakura demanded.

"Lemme think about that... No," Kabuto replied. "Not unless you want to leave Sasuke here."

Sakura froze; she had no idea as to what she should do. If she left Sasuke here, they would have to come back for a third time and hope that this wouldn't happen. If she didn't leave Sasuke, then something would happen to Ino, and Sakura didn't want to take that chance.

And then a flash of blue and white flew over Sakura and hit Kabuto in the face. Kabuto fell back, releasing Ino, who ran to stand next to Sakura. The flash of blue and white, who was actually Sasuke, grinned as he stepped back.

"I think we'll be leaving. Sorry about the nose, Kabuto. I'm sure you'll be fine though," Sasuke stated. He grabbed Sakura and Ino's wrists and leaped over the guards who had surrounded the injured Kabuto just as explosions from behind Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke began occurring.


	8. Escape

_Spring break is bliss, and I'm so glad to be on it. It's been months since the last time I've had a vacation from school. Admittedly, I've spent half of it at home doing absolutely nothing, but hey, at least I'm not in school doing school work or stressing over anything related to school. Just two more months, and I'll be on summer vacation. I'm ever so excited for it, and you should be too because I'll be dishing out more chapters then! But for now, enjoy chapter eight of Roses and Cherry Blossoms!_

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 8 – Escape

The trio was exhausted, but they had to escape. The explosions behind them were getting closer and closer. The only thing that kept the trio going was the explosions and freedom. If they escaped, not only would they be alive and well, but they would be free. All of the exhaustion was worth their freedom and lives.

A light. They could see the exit; the doors were open.

But the exit wasn't the only thing that Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino could see. Blocking their path were several shinobi ready to take down the trio and risk their lives in the process.

"Sasuke, do something about them!" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke was already a couple steps of Sakura; he was already performing the hand signs required for one of his jutsu. He made a final hand sign before blowing a moderately large sized fire ball from his mouth. It was headed straight for their blockade.

And their blockade scattered. They weren't trying to get hit by the rather large fire ball headed for them; they obviously knew of the consequences of getting hit by fire balls. Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino ran through the exit and continued on to the exit of the village.

They were nearly free. All they had to do was escape the village, and they would be free. Freedom; they could see it now. Only a few more feet and they would be out of harm's way.

"Not so fast!" a man yelled as he and several other shinobi stepped in front of the exit of the village. Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino were forced to come to a stop. They were surrounded; they had to fight their way out. "Exhausted, are we? What a shame... We were hoping for a bit of a fight."

"We're not exhausted at all. I have no idea as to what makes you think that. Nevertheless, you'll get your fight, Tavin," Sasuke said. He was breathless, and the girls were too. Nevertheless, they wanted their freedom, and they would fight for it if they had to.

"Terrific. I hope you're ready to lose, Sasuke, because you're about to be locked back up again, and this time, you'll have a lot more security," Tavin said, brushing his strawberry blonde hair out of his face. He snapped his fingers, and a large explosion occurred from behind where the trio was. The trio spun around to see that the compound that they were just in had exploded.

And Kabuto was approaching them. He had gotten out alive.

"Don't worry, Sasuke. Based on the condition of you and your friends, this shouldn't take very long at all," Kabuto said as he took his place beside two shinobi who had been chatting animatedly. "Shall we begin?"

"I think we should. The sooner we take you guys out, the faster we can get back to Konoha," Sasuke said. Without waiting for a snide remark from Tavin or Kabuto, he took a kunai out of his pouch and ran towards several of the soldiers. He leaped over them, throwing the kunai down. Several of the soldiers laughed, but Sakura and Ino had caught onto Sasuke's plan and followed suit.

"Is that all you little brats have got?" Tavin asked as Sakura and Ino landed on the ground outside of the circle.

"Of course not, Tavin," Sasuke said. Tavin had nearly opened his mouth to respond, but Sasuke snapped his fingers. Three simultaneous explosions occurred right where the kunai had been previously. They had been fitted with exploding tags, and when Sasuke snapped his fingers, the tags went off. Any nearby soldiers were affected by the blast and subsequently killed by it. "And we have a lot more than that in store. Would you like to give up now?"

"Never," Tavin growled. He ran towards Sasuke with a katana in his hand. Sasuke merely whipped out a kunai and blocked every strike that Tavin threw at him, eventually kicking him in the stomach and effectively knocking him back a bit.

"Sasuke!" the girls cried. Two shinobi were holding the girls back while Kabuto stood in the middle, holding a kunai in his hand. Sasuke turned to face him, and Kabuto held the kunai up.

"If you do anything else, these lovely girls will lose their lives," Kabuto said, grinning evilly. Sasuke grinned as well, but his was mischievous, as if he had a plan brewing in his mind.

"Don't get your hopes up, Kabuto," Sasuke said. He looked casually at Sakura and Ino, who nodded at him before elbowing the shinobi that were holding them, knocking them to the ground. They stepped away before Kabuto could react, pointing kunai of their own at him. Sasuke moved forward, stopping once he was between the girls. "You're finished. Would you like to give up?"

"I- I'm not giving up!" Kabuto said. His voice quavered slightly, causing Sasuke's grin to get bigger.

"I think you should. It's three against one. Last chance to reconsider," Sasuke said. Kabuto looked around him; all of his comrades were either unconscious or in too much pain to do anything else. He growled quietly to himself before slowly backing away from the trio.

"One day I'll get you, Sasuke Uchiha! Watch your back!" Kabuto yelled. He turned around and ran back towards another compound.

"Come on, let's get out of here before any more of them come," Sasuke said. The girls nodded, and together they left the village.

They were free. They were going home... together.


	9. Home Sweet Home

_Summer's finally coming to a close for me. Schedules come out next week, and then school will be back in session not long after that. It's all flown by. At least I'm getting another chapter of this fic up. So without further ado, I bring you chapter nine of Roses and Cherry Blossoms. This actually marks the end of Roses and Cherry Blossoms. I hope you all enjoyed reading it!_

Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 9 – Home Sweet Home

It took a lot of effort for Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino to sneak back into Konoha without having anyone notice them. The girls wanted to meet up with Tsunade before they went their separate ways. They also wanted to inform the Hokage of the danger that the Sound shinobi provided. And they were so close to doing it when they heard a very familiar voice.

"Sakura! Ino!" the voice yelled. The girls turned around slowly, and Sasuke did too, but not until the girls gasped. Standing in front of them was a man with spiky silver hair who had a Konoha headband covering one of his eyes. Sakura's eyes had widened; she was clearly shocked.

"K-Kakashi-sensei! What a pleasure to see you!" Sakura said. If there was anything that was blatantly obvious in her voice, it was how nervous she sounded.

"The three of you are coming with me to Lady Hokage's office. Now," Kakashi replied. He grabbed Sakura and Ino by the arm, but he stopped when he saw Sasuke. "You can walk in front of me."

And so they walked. Kakashi pulled Sakura and Ino along the rest of the way to the Hokage's office. Sasuke reluctantly walked in front of him. His gaze never left the ground; he was much too ashamed to face anyone. It wasn't until they arrived at the Hokage's office that he looked up.

"Lady Hokage, I've found them," Kakashi said. Tsunade spun around to face the group. She looked them over briefly before bringing her attention to Kakashi.

"Thank you, Kakashi. I'll handle this from here," Tsunade said calmly. Kakashi nodded and bowed before exiting the office. It wasn't until the footsteps faded away into silence that Tsunade spoke again. "Do you three have any idea why you're here?"

"For all intents and purposes, Lady Hokage, we were planning on coming here anyways," Sasuke said. Tsunade merely waved him off dismissively.

"Why did you girls run off to go after Sasuke? Even after you were told to stay in the village. Why did you disobey us?" Tsunade asked. She sounded unusually calm.

"Because we wanted to save him! We knew that Sasuke wasn't a bad person! And we weren't going to give up just because we were told not to. There was no way we'd let Sasuke live in the conditions that he had to!" Sakura replied. The nervousness that she had experienced earlier from running into Kakashi had faded away by now. She was feeling much more confident now that she was in the Hokage's office and Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

"And besides, we have some information on the Sound ninja. Certainly you'd like to hear that!" Ino chimed in. Now Tsunade looked interested. She even leaned forward and waved her hand in front of her at the three chairs that were in front of her desk.

"Sit," Tsunade commanded gently. The three young Konoha shinobi exchanged glances before moving forward to sit in the chairs that Tsunade had gestured at not long ago. "Now tell me about what you discovered."

"Well, we found out that they're keeping all of their prisoners in compounds within their village. And the compounds are a disaster. They've even got enough people to strike up a war with us. We ended up having to fight some of them as we were leaving the village. They're not that strong, considering we're all Genin," Ino replied. Tsunade merely nodded. As Ino spoke, she occasionally scribbled things down on a spare sheet of paper.

"I see… Ino, Sasuke, you two may go. Sakura, stay back for a moment. I want to speak with you," Tsunade said. Sasuke and Ino reluctantly got up and walked over to the door. They smiled and nodded at Sakura before walking out. Again, Tsunade waited until their footsteps faded away before speaking again. "What would you say if I asked you to be my apprentice?"

"Wh-what? Why would you ask me that? I disobeyed you!" Sakura replied. She sounded shocked, especially considering the circumstances.

"Because I see potential in you. What do you say? You'll learn a handful of useful jutsu that will be good in the field," Tsunade replied.

"Like healing jutsu?" Sakura asked. Tsunade merely nodded. "Alright, I accept!"

"Very well then. You'll start next week. I trust you'll want some time to reacquaint yourself with Konoha again," Tsunade replied. Sakura cheerfully nodded and leaped up out of the chair, darting out of the door. Boy, did she have some news to tell Ino and Sasuke!

/\/\/\/\/\/\

At Hokage Mountain, Sakura could see Ino and Sasuke leaning against the railing, looking over the village. She ran up to them, squeezing in between them.

"Hey, guys, guess what?" Sakura asked. She sounded really cheerful. Tsunade's offer had really cheered her up.

"What?" Saskue and Ino asked simultaneously.

"Tsunade's taken me on as her apprentice!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Wow, that's really cool, Sakura!" Ino exclaimed. She looked between Sasuke and Sakura, and then her cheerfulness faded away. "I guess I should go. We're rivals, so I have to be better than you somehow, Sakura."

"I guess so. I'll see you around, Ino," Sakura replied. Ino nodded with a smile before walking away. Once she was out of sight, she brought her attention back to Sasuke. "It's nice to be back, yeah?"

"Very nice, actually. Especially when I get to spend it with someone like you."


End file.
